To
return to the main (2013) article, click
here or use the main menu.
What
a difference a year makes! Spring is a little later there
this year but the change is remarkable, possibly helped by
a reduction in the number of 'hunters' working the area, much
to the relief of locals. Compared with my observations on
previous visits, the Magpie population seems to be increasing
to the point where they are becoming a nuisance. Crow, Jay
and Green Woodpecker seem fairly steady, Hoopoe increasing
slightly. The first few days of our visit were bitterly cold
with a strong northerly wind but there were numerous small
birds  singing
away in the garden. Seen were Whinchat (left), Nightingale,
Wren (first time seen there), Robin and at least one other
that remains unidentified. Once the wind dropped and things
warmed up, most of them had gone so they were probably just
having a stopover! Nightingales (right), incidentally, are
very common birds throughout Europe although they are a
rarity in Britain. Robins were hard to spot but were singing
regularly throughout our visit. Blue and Great Tits were still
there but the numbers seem unchanged with only a few seen
or heard. The Wrens, never seen there before, were quite numerous
and there appeared to be a pair looking to set up home in
some ivy growing on the house. Italian Sparrows, previously
only seen nearby, were reasonably regular garden visitors
this year. A pair of Goldfinches seemed to be doing a daily
inspection of the very top branch of a cypress tree as if
speculating on a nest site. On one day only a Grasshopper
Warbler was heard calling regularly. Another new one, one
bird seen once only, was a Chaffinch. Blackbirds were singing
away over by the horse paddocks just to the north of the house
with occasional visits to the garden and Starlings were visiting
the garden regularly. No sightings of Golden Oriole this year,
they are later arriving, and the first one heard was on the
last Thursday of April. Quite a few Wood Pigeon and Collared
Dove seen and heard but no sightings of Turtle Dove although
one was heard that same Thursday. Overhead, good numbers of
Swifts and Martins on a regular basis but not in great numbers
although the towns are full of them!
Closer to the ground, insect life was booming! Huge numbers
of bees were working what blossom was out  (mainly
Apple and Rosemary), the commonest one having a grey, almost
hairy looking, thorax and a clearly banded body. Not very
many wasps around but quite a few sightings of their big cousins
- hornets. Quite a few bumblebees of different types but the
most often seen were a small, all-brown, one and another that
looked like our common white-tailed type. Not many of the
all-black Carpenter Bees in the garden but a neighbouring
one had them in considerable numbers feeding on their garden
flowers. The garden ants were busy - more 'volcanos' than
ever before. Not many grasshoppers or crickets around, not
quite summery enough for them yet. Few caterpillars seen,
still too early for them this year. Lots of hunting spiders
on the go but virtually no web builders, not even the funnel
web ones that were noted regularly in previous years. Butterflies
were quite active with good numbers of Small and Large Whites,
Orangetips and an unidentified (never got close enough for
a good look) copper coloured smallish butterfly. One sighting
of a Brimstone and occasional sightings of Scarce Swallowtail.
No sightings of any mammals although wild boar and porcupine
are common in the area. A 'trail camera' was set most nights
in the hope of catching something passing up or down the road
but captured only passing vehicles! Hardly a success story
but unfortunately there is no really good spot to set the
camera other than actually on the roadside where it could
be vulnerable to people with 'sticky fingers'! The neighbours
Jean and Roberto, mentioned in the 2013 article, had a positive
identification of a mammal shot by a local hunter. Locally
called 'Nutria', it was a Mycastor Coypus, what we
usually simply call Coypu, an alien species.
I did set out to photograph some of the common plants around.
Lack of time and good weather, coupled with my suffering from
a horrendous cold, limited my photography. Apparently a book
for identifying plants, wildflowers, etc, in Italy is almost
impossible to find. Local names are rather meaningless, even
translating into English usually gives a name that we don't
recognize! A selection appears below and I would welcome identification
from anyone that knows what they are - you may contact me
directly as per our 'Contacts' page. As usual, clicking on
any image will bring up a larger sized version.
 At
first glance, this looks like a holly. However, the leaves
are smooth edged but have a sharply spiked tip. The berries
are quite large, about 15mm diameter, and they appear singly
as opposed to the clusters of much smaller berries seen
on holly. The tallest plant seen is about 1 - 1.5 metres
(3 - 5ft) high. The one seen here is around 400mm (16")
tall. Local common name is apparently translates as 'porcupine
plant'. Have never seen it in flower.
 
This in the early stages of flowering, the buds look like
a 'bunch of grapes' and start opening from the top to finally
become like a pink bottle brush.The second image shows slightly
later development with flower buds on the stem.Plant reaches
about 300mm (1ft) in height.
 This
is a shrub or a small tree. Have seen some reaching around
3m (10ft) in height but they could go larger. Very distinctive
leaf shape. Tried to find out what the locals call it but
without success. Very common.
 Haven't
a clue! Seems common. Would have helped if I could have
found one in flower.
 This
is obviously a type of red clover, very common. The flower
heads are much more conical than we see here in the UK. Very
pretty.
 This
is quite a common plant. It dies off in the winter, reappears
in spring. Grows to around a metre high (3ft). Have never
seen it in flower. Produces clusters of almost black berries,
very similar to those of Elder. Locals call it 'sambuco'
(or Sambuca), possibly because of that resemblance. Has
very tough stems.
 Quite
a lot of these around. Never seen it in flower or fully
grown. Looks like it could be quite a size. The one shown
is about 300mm (1ft) high.
 This
pretty flower looks familiar but I just can't put a name
to it!
 Reminiscent
of a foxglove but different. What is it when it grows up?
 Looks
like young Elder - sappy green stems and leaves similar
to Elder although arranged differently on the stems. Never
seems to grow all that big ( 4-6ft or so) and may even be
an annual. Never seen in flower. Occasional cluster buds
suggesting flowers may be white. No local name known.
 This
one solved. Thanks for comments.
|
|
